Save Me From Myself
by SuicidalSpiders
Summary: Nobody has seen Severus Snape for the past six years, until he suddenly shows up to do the commencement speech at Hermione's graduation at Stanford Wizarding University. 'Where has he been all these years, and why is he in America' she wonders and then promptly bursts into tears. AU after book 5. Rating for some graphic violence and potentially disturbing scenes in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing and am making no money. It all belongs to JK Rowling.

**Warning: There is some graphic violence in this chapter. If you can't handle such things, please do not read.**

* * *

Hermione watched, dumbfounded, from her seat in the crowd of graduates at StanfordWizardingUniversity as Severus Snape gave their commencement speech. She hadn't seen him, in fact no one had seen him, since he had disappeared after the war ended six years ago. He had taken the remarkably large sum of money awarded to him by the Ministry for his efforts as a double agent in the war, retired from Hogwarts, and fell completely off the radar, until now.

'Where's he been all these years? Why has he come out of hiding now? And what's he doing in America?' The thoughts flowed through Hermione's head as she stared at Snape. The first thing she noticed was his clothes. He wasn't wearing his 'buttoned to the nines' ensemble he had become known for, rather, he appeared to have been influenced by the American wizarding fashion of wearing Muggle clothing, as he was wearing a Muggle suit under his over-robe. After seeing him for so long up to his chin in wool, it was a bit disorienting to see so much of his pale skin, even if it was just his neck and wrists. The next thing she noticed was his face. His hair was much shorter, at about cheekbone length, he was clean-shaven, and he somehow looked younger than he had as her professor.

She had never really seen Snape's face so clearly before, and now that there was little hair to obscure it, she realised that, despite his rather large nose, he was kind of handsome...in a dark, mysterious rocker kind of way. She blushed a little upon thinking this and looked around to make sure no one had noticed, but everyone was attentively watching Snape. When she was satisfied nobody had witnessed her reddening cheeks, she turned back to examine Snape further. The dark circles under his eyes were nearly invisible, and the wrinkles that had once seemed permanently etched into his forehead were virtually gone. 'I guess six years away from the stress of the world would make anyone look good,' she thought, a little more bitterly than she expected. Without warning, she burst into tears.

Seeing Snape now, and hearing his voice again brought back a flood of memories that she had tried to suppress for the last six years. So many people had died in the war, so many people she loved. Remus, Tonks, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, the twins, Luna, Neville; the list felt endless. She had watched them all fall, one by one, in the final battle on the Hogwarts grounds at the end of their seventh year. However, the memory that kept her from sleeping most nights, and the one that made her break down at that moment, was the image of Ron.

* * *

_Hermione had been in a duel against Lucius Malfoy for the past 20 minutes before he finally got so frustrated at her dodging most of his curses, and being hit by more than a few of hers, that she heard him yell, 'Avada Kedavra!' Hermione froze, watching in horror as Lucius' dead body fell to the ground. Her eyes grew still wider as Draco appeared from behind a tree, his wand pointed at his own father. He stood there for a few moments, staring at his father's lifeless form, and then turned to Hermione. She snapped out of her daze and held her wand at the ready, preparing to meet the same fate. But all Draco did was point to something behind her and disappeared into the horde of fighting witches and wizards above them on the grounds. Confused, Hermione turned around, frantically searching for the hidden threat to which Draco had been referring, but there was none. She then realised that he had been trying to alert her to something going on further down the lawns, near the forest._

_Hermione cautiously moved closer, and saw a dark-haired woman relentlessly torturing a red-haired man. Upon closer inspection, Hermione recognised the maniacal cackle of Bellatrix Lestrange as she cast Crucio after Crucio upon Hermione's unconscious fiancé. Without a second thought, Hermione bolted toward the deranged woman, drawing her wand._

_"Expelliarmus!" Hermione screamed._

_Bellatrix flew into the air and slammed hard into a tree, her wand flying toward Hermione in the process. Bellatrix looked up at Hermione in utter shock, but quickly regained her senses and screeched with laughter._

_"Aw, did I hurt the Mudblood's little man toy?" she taunted. "He got what was coming to him, tainting his pure blood, with your filthy, worthless –" But before Bellatrix could say another word, Hermione threw a forceful Stunning Spell at her, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious._

_Hermione quickly turned around and ran over to Ron, who was lying unmoving a few feet away. She knelt down and rolled him onto his back. He was cold as ice and covered with blood. Hermione started to shake. She couldn't breathe._

_"Ron," she said tentatively, gently caressing his icy cheek. "Sweetie, it's me, Hermione." Ron remained completely still. Frightened for the worst, she slowly put her ear to his chest. There was nothing but silence._

_"No!" Hermione gasped, anxiously grabbing Ron's wrist, but there was no pulse. She grasped Ron's shoulders and shook him furiously._

_"Ron!" She screamed, hot tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. His head lulled to the side as she shook him harder, hoping against hope that he would waken. However, there was no hope. He was dead. She hugged him against her, rocking back and forth, and cried into the shock of copper hair she loved so much. _

_Several minutes later, Bellatrix began to stir. Hermione's blood began to boil and her vision went cloudy. She gently laid Ron back onto the ground and unsteadily rose. She staggered forward towards Bellatrix's blurry form, and climbed on top of her, pinning her down. She grabbed a large rock from the ground nearby and struck Bellatrix across the temple as hard as she could. Bellatrix shrieked in pain and tried to throw Hermione off her, but Hermione kept swinging, over and over and over again. Even after Bellatrix had stopped fighting and lay still, Hermione kept hitting her, her eyes glazed over in a rage-filled frenzy._

_Gradually Hermione's breathing and heart rate slowed, and as her vision cleared, she realised what she had just done. She looked down at the unrecognisable pile of mush beneath her that _was_ Bellatrix Lestrange, and then at the bloody rock in her hand. She dropped the rock as if it had burned her and reeled backward, away from the body. She then proceeded to vomit at the base of a tree._

* * *

"Hermione?"

Hermione's head shot up and she looked at her friend, Sherri, who was staring at her, wide-eyed and confused.

"What's wrong?" Sherri asked. "His speech wasn't that great."

Hermione wiped her tear-stained cheeks with the sleeve of her robe and shook her head.

"Nevermind," she said, waving off her friend's comment.

Sherri refused to give up. She wanted to know why her friend had suddenly burst into tears during a somewhat boring speech from a guy _she'd_ never heard of, but was apparently famous in the UK. She grabbed Hermione's arm and forced Hermione to look her in the eye.

"Hey," she said, concerned. "What's up?" She looked into Hermione's eyes, imploring her to answer honestly.

"He was one of my professors at Hogwarts." Hermione finally submitted and Sherri gave her a quizzical look.

"It's just…" Hermione sighed, fighting back more tears threatening to come forth. She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath before continuing. "Seeing him again after all these years just brought back a lot of bad memories from the war."

Sherri nodded sympathetically and wrapped her arms around her best friend. She was slightly surprised, because Hermione had never mentioned the war before. She knew Hermione had been a big part of ending it, from the reading the news, but Hermione never talked about it, so she didn't know the details of what exactly had happened to her. She decided to press her later for details. After seeing her best friend break down like that, she was desperate to find out why.

The band began to play 'Pomp and Circumstance', bringing the girls back to the present. The Headmaster of the university began to call out the graduates' names and, one by one, they went up to receive their diplomas. When Hermione's name was called, she rose and walked down the aisle to the podium at the front of the stage. She was shaking from head to toe and nearly dropped the diploma that was handed to her as her eyes locked onto the pair of obsidian ones staring intently at her from the side of the stage. She stood there, stunned, for a few seconds, before she remembered where she was and smiled awkwardly at the Headmaster. She gave a quick wave to her parents and boyfriend who were cheering in the crowd, and practically ran back to her seat.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hello! I hope you all enjoyed this. :) It's the first story I've ever published, so please tell me what you think! I'm very open to constructive criticism, but please be kind. :) I apologise for such a short chapter...it was three pages in MS Word. lol I'll try harder to make the next one longer.**

**Cheers!**


	2. Chapter 2

I own nothing and am making no money. It all belongs to JK Rowling.

**Just wanted to give a huge thank you to everyone who left reviews! I love you guys! *bear hugs***

Special thanks to my wonderful beta, Faliah. She is seriously amazing!

* * *

Severus watched Hermione as she ran back to her seat. He chuckled softly, shaking his head. She had never been one to hide her emotions well. She was as wide open as a book with a broken spine and her shock at seeing him was written all over her face.

As the rest of the students approached the front of the stage to receive their diplomas, he took the opportunity to study her. She looked well, healthy. Her hair was tamed into an elegant chignon and she was wearing a delicate layer of makeup that enhanced her features without overpowering them. He dared to admit to himself that she looked quite beautiful…in a bookish, know-it-all sort of way. He frowned, remembering the last time he had seen her. It had been shortly after the final battle, at the press release.

Reporters from all over the world had shown up at Hogwarts, mere hours after the war had ended, to interview everyone and take pictures. Severus had been furious and in no mood to answer anyone's questions. They hadn't even been given the time to clean themselves up, as they were still rounding up the dead and searching for survivors. He took it upon himself to keep the press away from Hermione. She was covered in blood and her hair was a massive cloud of tangled frizz around her gaunt, white face. The worst part was you could tell by the look in her eyes that something in her had died that night. Severus felt deeply sorry for her. Not only had she lost many of her friends, she had lost the love of her life. He had lost the love of his life once too, and it had taken him over twenty years to heal completely. When he looked into her eyes that night, he had seen himself, seventeen years prior, standing over Lily's lifeless form in the rubble of her once quaint home, with baby Potter screaming next to her. He was glad to see that Hermione had, in all appearances, recovered, though he noticed the light in her eyes was still gone.

Severus realised, as sweat began to trickle down his temple, how hot he was in his suit and robe. It was hot this time of year in the Bay Area, and he was no longer accustomed to wearing so many layers. After he had retired from Hogwarts, he had bought some clothing from a Muggle shop, cut his hair, and burned all of his teaching robes along with his parents' house on Spinner's End.

He shrugged out of his robe and suit jacket, removed his tie, and shrunk them down to fit into his trouser pocket. His shirt was sticking to his sweating skin, so he quickly dried himself with his wand and undid the top two buttons of his shirt. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an ornately engraved silver lighter, bearing a snake coiled around a lily. Flicking it open, he watched its small purple flame ignite the end of the cigarette he'd recently placed between his lips. He inhaled deeply, reveling in the burning feeling in his chest, all the while staring intently at Hermione's face. He slowly exhaled, looking away for a split second to return the lighter to his pocket, and stiffened when he realized Hermione was staring back at him. Her look of disgust at the cancer-causing stick between his fingers made him feel slightly ashamed; however, the feeling quickly dissipated as he inhaled again. Hermione wrinkled her nose and turned her attention back to the Headmaster, who had just announced what the students had been waiting for; they were now officially graduated. There was a thunderous applause from the audience as the students jumped to their feet, throwing their caps into the air, cheering, crying, and hugging one another. Severus lost sight of Hermione in the chaos and turned to leave, but stopped as he heard a familiar voice calling after him.

"Severus!"

He sighed and turned to find the Headmaster of the University waddling toward him. Severus eyed the stout man wearily. He really didn't want to talk to him right now, afraid he might cause a scene by hexing the too jolly man into oblivion. Though, as the Headmaster neared, Severus masked his emotions and turned on his charm.

"Edmond," Severus smiled, and held out his hand. The Headmaster shook it with a bit more gusto than Severus was expecting, but he didn't let it show.

"I wanted to thank you again for coming today," the Headmaster said. "It was a wonderful speech."

"I was delighted to come," Severus lied.

"Good!" The Headmaster's smile widened in relief. "I was afraid you'd be angry with me."

"And why ever would you come to that conclusion?" Severus said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. His smile transformed into his infamous sneer, and the Headmaster's face fell.

"I apologize," gulped the Headmaster. "I should have told you she was here. Please forgive me. I didn't realize how painful it would be for you."

Severus was about to go into a full rant when he caught sight of Hermione out of the corner of his eye. All of his anger was suddenly sucked out of him. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Honestly, Ed," Severus said, "I couldn't care less. It's her I'm worried about." He pointed to Hermione across the sea of celebrating students, and his anger began to rise again. "By the looks of it, she hadn't known I'd be here either," he hissed.

The Headmaster looked guilty and tried to avoid Severus' eyes. He spotted something in the distance and took it as an excuse to end the conversation. After bowing to Severus, he walked as fast as his short legs could carry him toward a crowd of important looking people in suits.

Severus leaned against the wall, his back to the stage. He tried to calm himself by taking several deep breaths, in through his nose, out through his mouth. He hated the feeling of being deceived-it had been one of the many reasons he'd left Britain. He took one last drag on his cigarette before flicking it to the ground and stubbing it out with the toe of his boot. He pushed off the wall and strode quickly toward the Apparition point some thirty yards from the stage.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath.

He hadn't been quick enough. A rather large clique of female students swooped in front of him, blocking his path. He stopped short to avoid crashing into them. A tall blonde, wearing far too much makeup, stepped directly in front of him and held out a book and a pen. Startled, he took a step backward.

"Can I have your autograph?" the blonde said. She gave him a broad smile, showing perfectly straight, white teeth. He stared at her for a moment, slack-jawed and speechless.

"Beg pardon?" he finally managed. The crowd of girls giggled.

"Can I have your autograph?" she repeated, motioning with the book and pen. "I've always wanted to meet a real life hero!"

"Right…" Severus came to his senses and smiled down at the blonde. "Of course." He took the proffered pen and quickly signed his name. The blonde squealed as he handed it back to her, making him chuckle.

"Me next!" Another blonde pushed the first girl aside and shoved a pad of paper and a pen in Severus' face. His smile faltered slightly as he took the pen from her, taken aback by the girl's boldness.

***

Hermione gaped at Snape across the crowd. He was surrounded by a swarm of girls bombarding him with autograph requests, and he was smiling at them. She couldn't believe her eyes. He was practically flirting with a tall brunette as he signed his name for her. Sherri looked at Hermione watching Snape and giggled.

"Looks like somebody has a little crush," Sherri teased. "I don't think my brother will appreciate that too much. 'Specially considering this guy is way hotter than Scotty." She glanced back toward Snape.

"Ewww." Hermione scrunched her nose and swatted playfully at her friend. "You don't understand. I've never seen him smile before!" Sherri raised an eyebrow.

"Honest," Hermione continued. "At Hogwarts, he was so austere and cold, with a sneer permanently plastered across his face. His nickname was the Greasy Bat of the Dungeons." Sherri gave her a blank stare.

"He was the Potions Master at Hogwarts, you see," Hermione explained.

"Yeah, that totally doesn't help," Sherri shook her head.

"The Potions labs were in the dungeons, as were his office and living quarters."

"Okay, so…that explains the dungeon part…"

"He used to have long hair that had a tendency to become greasy from standing over steaming cauldrons all day," Hermione said slowly, willing the bottle-blonde to understand. Sherri could be a bit dense at times. "And he wore these voluminous black robes that billowed round him when he moved. It made him look like a giant bat," she continued.

"Oh, um, interesting," Sherri said, still looking a tad confused. "Well, people change," she shrugged.

"Not that much!" Hermione exclaimed. "I mean, he was such an insufferable prick most of the time."

"I resent that," said a deep voice from behind the two girls. Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin and whirled around.

"If memory serves me, it was you who were the insufferable one," Snape smirked.

"Professor Snape!" Hermione squeaked.

Snape leaned forward and said in a low voice, "I'm no longer a professor, Miss Granger."

"Right, sorry…force of habit," Hermione replied, sheepish. She tucked an errant curl behind her ear, avoiding eye contact with Snape.

"Mr. Snape…Hi!" Sherri butted in, a little too loud. "I'm Hermione's friend Sherri." She gave Snape a brilliant white smile and held out her hand.

"Severus," Snape corrected in a silky voice, and kissed Sherri's hand. "Pleasure to meet you." Sherri turned bright red and all but melted. Hermione eyed Snape.

"Uh, Sherri," Hermione said, turning her attention to her friend. "I'm sure our families are wondering where we are at the moment. Why don't you see if you can find them?"

"Okay," Sherri responded breathily. She gave Snape a shy smile and ran off into the crowd. Snape could barely contain his amusement.

"Alright," Hermione snapped, rounding on Snape. "Who are you and what have you done with Severus Snape?!" Snape gave her a look of mild surprise, still trying to suppress his laughter.

"You should listen to your friend," Snape said. "People change."

"Not that much," Hermione scoffed. The mirthful look in his eyes unnerved her; this wasn't the man she'd grown up around. She narrowed her eyes. "What are you up to?"

"I've no idea what you're on about, Miss Granger," Snape said, his smile fading.

"After the war, you completely disappeared, never to be heard from again. And-"

"_I_ disappeared?!" Snape interrupted, baffled.

"Yes, you!" Hermione put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

"No, no, no, _you_ were the one who disappeared!" Snape countered, lighting another cigarette. "The last time I, and everyone else I spoke with, saw you, was right after the final battle. You weren't at any of the trials…let me finish!" He held up his hand and her jaw shut with a snap. "I was at every single one of those bloody trials as a witness, same with Potter, and there wasn't a single curl from that damn mane of yours in sight." He glowered down at her.

Snape looked every bit an angry bull to Hermione as he exhaled smoke out of his nose. She glared up at him for a good moment before she straightened to her full height and cleared her throat.

"Well, there's the professor I remember," she quipped. "I'll have you know, I've kept in contact with Harry and Ginny this whole time. And according to them, after the trials were over, you took the money you were awarded and disappeared. A lot of people thought you'd died….by the way, why _did_ you burn down your house?"

Snape took a long, slow drag on his cigarette and looked deep into Hermione's eyes. She desperately wanted to look away, but held her ground, arms crossed. What seemed like minutes later, she felt an arm snake around her waist. Startled, she broke eye contact with Snape to see who was touching her. To her relief, it was her boyfriend, Sherri's older brother, Scott. She smiled brightly up at him. He was a tall, lanky Muggle with mousy brown hair and a sparse, reddish beard. He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead, making her giggle. She clasped his hand and kissed his cheek.

"You gonna introduce us, babe?" Scott asked, motioning toward Snape.

"Oh, right," Hermione blushed. "Scott, this is Severus Snape. He was the Potions Master at Hogwarts when I attended there."

She looked toward Snape, unsure how to address him. He was no longer a professor, and calling him by his given name, or even Mr. Snape, just felt too awkward for her. In the end, she decided not to address him directly at all.

"And this is my boyfriend, Scott," she said.

Scott and Snape shook hands. Even though Snape was smiling, there was a glint in his eyes that made Hermione uneasy. She had a sick feeling he was attempting Legilimency.

"Well, um, it was nice to see you again," she said, desperate to stop him before he found anything of interest. "But I'm afraid we have prior arrangements and we must be going."

"Of course," Snape nodded, breaking eye contact with Scott to look at her. "But tell me, are you busy tomorrow?"

"N-no…why?" Hermione asked, thoroughly confused.

"I was just wondering if we might continue our conversation over lunch," Snape said.

"Oh, um…I…uh," she stammered.

"Please?" he implored. Hermione's jaw dropped. She'd never once heard this man say 'please'.

"Okay," she nodded, her eyes wide. Scott's grip tightened on her waist. She blinked and looked up at him. "If it's okay with you," she asked.

"I don't care," Scott shrugged. "It's not like he's gonna steal you away or anything, right?" He grinned and lightly clapped Snape on the arm.

Snape, who had been busy stubbing out his cigarette, slowly raised his head and settled a cold gaze on Scott. Hermione turned a deep shade of crimson and laughed nervously.

"I'll pick you up at noon, Miss Granger," Snape said. He gave Hermione a curt bow and Disapparated without a sound.

Scott gave an exasperated sigh and removed his arm from Hermione's waist. Hermione stood there for a moment, staring at the spot Snape had just occupied.

"I _hate_ it when you guys do that," Scott muttered. He faced Hermione and crossed his arms. "I don't like that guy."

"You know, I can honestly say I don't know anyone who does," Hermione giggled, but stopped as soon as she saw the look on Scott's face. "Let's go," she said in a small voice, and walked toward their families waiting for them a few yards off.

***

_Hermione leaned against the tree, unable to support her own weight. She couldn't breathe. What had she just done? She'd never killed anyone before. She began to dry heave, there was nothing left in her stomach to come up. She closed her eyes and willed her body to calm down by taking several long, slow breaths. The sun had set, but the full moon lit the grounds of Hogwarts as if it were a cloudy winter's day. She glanced up toward the castle and could barely make out the colorful flashes of light from the curses and spells being cast about. She started to shake violently. She couldn't do it. She couldn't will herself to run up there and continue to fight. She was tired, so tired. All she wanted to do was sleep. She stumbled over to Ron's body and cradled herself in his arms like she had every night for the past year. She fell asleep almost instantly, praying she would never wake up._

The sun was shining on Ron's copper hair as he swung Hermione around and around. They laughed joyfully as they fell onto the grass. They lay there for a moment, catching their breath. Ron shifted onto his side and smiled down at her, tucking a curly lock behind her ear. He caressed her cheek and kissed her forehead.

"I love you so much, you know that?" he said, grinning his stupid grin she loved so much. She smiled up at him.

"I love you too!"

She leaned up to kiss him but he placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her. Her smile faltered, his hand felt so real. His grip tightened and he began to shake her.

"Miss Granger," he murmured in a strange, deep voice that sounded vaguely familiar. "Miss Granger," he said louder, shaking her harder. "Hermione!"

_Hermione's eyes shot open. Severus Snape was kneeling over her. He had a strange look of horror, confusion, compassion, and fear on his usually stoic face._

"No!" Hermione whispered.

Her mind was still foggy from sleep. She looked around wildly. The sky was beginning to lighten in anticipation of sunrise and it was dead silent.

"No!" she screamed, shooting into a sitting position.

"Miss Granger," Snape said. "Calm down."

"This can't be happening! He can't…." Hermione grabbed the sides of her head and began to rock back and forth, muttering unintelligibly.

"Miss Granger," Snape said again in a gentle voice. He put a tentative hand on her shoulder and she flinched violently.

"Don't touch me!" she shrieked, her eyes wide and crazed.

Hermione frantically patted herself down in search of her wand, but it wasn't there. Remembering that she had left it by Bellatrix's body, she sprung upward and headed for the trees. Her foot caught on Ron's leg and she fell face first into the dirt. Snape grabbed her by the arm and brought her to her feet.

"You'll never take me alive!" she spat in his face, struggling against his grip.

Hermione used every ounce of strength she could muster to wrench free, and dove for her wand. With snake-like reflexes, Snape lunged at her and bodily hauled her backward. She screamed and he quickly covered her mouth with his hand. She thrashed about, furiously kicking and biting at him, but he held her fast. After several long moments, she gave up and went limp. She began to shake. Snape cautiously removed his hand from her mouth.

"Kill me," Hermione whispered, and Snape's breath caught.

He whirled her around and stared at her in utter disbelief. "What?"

"Kill me," she whispered again, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please?"

"Are...are you mad?!" he spluttered.

Hermione grabbed the lapels of Snape's robe and pulled him down so their faces were almost touching. His eyes widened in shock. He opened and closed his mouth several times, but no words would surface.

"I failed him! I failed Harry when he needed me most! I fell asleep! And now Voldemort's won! Please! Kill me now!" she pleaded, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Hermione, listen to me!" he shouted, shaking her again. "Potter won! The Dark Lord's dead!"

Hermione stilled and then began to hyperventilate. She didn't know what to do or think. When Snape woke her, she had immediately thought Voldemort had won. Up until then, even she had had doubts of Snape's true loyalties. But Voldemort was vanquished and Snape was still there. She then realised that Snape was there to help her, not carry her off to become a play toy for the Death Eaters. She collapsed against him and sobbed into his chest. Snape stiffened at the contact, but eventually wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"I still failed him," Hermione moaned into Snape's chest.

"You didn't fail anyone, Miss Granger," Snape murmured, gently stroking her hair.

"I fell asleep. After I saw Ron, I just couldn't go on. I was so tired."

"And that's perfectly understandable. You've been through so much. No one will ever hold this against you, I promise."

"How can you know that?" she glared up at him.

"Look, Potter had the Dark Lord right where he wanted him. If you had shown up, it would have ruined everything."

Hermione was absolutely crushed. She hadn't been needed. She had lost everything, her parents, her love, her friends, her childhood, and they hadn't even needed her.

"I…I didn't mean it like that," Snape backtracked. "You...you're the reason…if it hadn't been for your tremendous help in finding the Horcruxes and keeping Potter alive all these years, the Dark Lord would most definitely have won today."

Hermione's eyes welled with tears again. Snape pulled her to his chest once more and cradled her for what felt like hours as she wept.  


***

Sherri looked at Hermione in horror as she relayed what had happened. They were both in tears. Sherri had always wondered why her friend was the way she was, and now she knew. Hermione had been through hell, and there was nothing Sherri could do to comfort her but pull her close and hug her tight.

"Harry told me the same thing, but I still feel like I failed everyone," Hermione choked.

* * *

**Author's Note:  
Hello! I'm sorry it's taken me so long, but I didn't realise how hard it would be to write this. I keep coming up with these incredibly emotional and/or action-packed scenes and completely forget that I have to write the filler in between. lol I hope you guys like it! I just want to put a little disclaimer out there that I do not approve of smoking, however, I feel like it fits Sev's character, so I put it in. Anywho, tell me what you think of this chapter!**

PS - I'm getting married in November, and stupidly took on the task of making my own dress, so chapter three may not be out until after the wedding. I apologise in advance, but I really need to get cracking. lol

Cheers!


End file.
